The Sacrifice Play
by Elerrina Star
Summary: "Sir, your reactor can no longer sustain that level of power," JARVIS warned. "It will cause a crash." - The team is in trouble and the odds aren't great, so Tony plays the sacrificial ram. Again. Team centric. No slash.
1. Chapter 1

Dedicated to **Isilarma**, whose fantastic fanfiction _Some Things Aren't Funny _inspired this fic and who was kind of enough to allow me to take up the idea and run with it. Thank you, hon! *hugs*

If you haven't read _Some Things Aren't Funny_ then I seriously recommend that you go and do it ASAP. It's brilliant.

Some spoilers for Iron Man 2 and general stuff for the Avengers.

_Note: Dialog that appears in italics indicates either JARVIS or conversation held over a comm line._

* * *

Looking back, there had never been anyone that Tony Stark had ever truly hated more than Justin Hammer.

Seriously, the man was like a whining, smug-without-cause, human-in-form version of a rat. Or a weasel. Or a hybrid of both.

He had always gotten on Tony's nerves. Always. The fact that his Hammer Drones had almost killed both Rhodey and Pepper had definitely not reconciled him any in the playboy's eyes. It didn't even matter than Ivan Vanko was the one who had both built the drones and set them off. As far as Tony was concerned Hammer was just as responsible as the vengeance-hungry Vanko had been.

Yet in spite of all that the weasel had somehow managed to worm his way out of prison. Now, six months later his Hammer Drones, newly upgraded and out for blood, were back and currently decimating half of Los Angeles. "JARVIS, have you located Hammer's signal yet?"

"_The long range scanners cannot find the source of the drones' control signal. I'm afraid that whoever activated them is currently out of -"_

"_Behind you, Stark!"_

Tony spun mid-air just in time to see Thor crush a drone that had been aiming head-on for the armored hero. The kamikaze-bombers were the worst of the updated drones and there were more than too many of them around the field. That was the second to have attempted to take Tony out, and the others had dealt with at least that many themselves.

Nodding in thanks to the golden-haired god Tony whipped around again to find himself faced with yet another incoming kamikaze which he blasted just in time, though not soon enough to avoid the inevitable explosion. For a brief second his visor and flight stabilizers sputtered and blinked as the blast hit his already damaged suit with full force. He barely managed to right himself before he slammed into the shattered pavement below.

Yeah, he really hated Justin Hammer.

Blasting another drone - this one carrying a machine gun - just in time to prevent a live Captain America from becoming a dead Captain America, Tony shot up again and looked around, taking out enemies as he could. "What's the count, JARVIS?"

"_Scanners indicate that there are still nearly two-hundred seventy five Hammer Drones left on the ground."_

Taking in the information Tony felt his stomach plunge. Around and below him the team still fought, battling on in spite of the overwhelming odds. Black Widow and Cap stayed on the ground while Hawkeye fired from above and Thor alternated between earth and sky. The Hulk was somewhere a block or two over smashing drones to his heart's content. For a team who had managed to defeat the Chitauri the odds weren't that bad.

But they'd already been at it for hours and most of them were hurt somehow. That made the odds infinitely less pleasing.

He repeated the numbers through the comm to inform the others and could practically hear the slowly-creeping desperation and exhaustion that was beginning to prey on all of them. Even Natasha sounded edgy, and when that happened you knew things were getting bad.

There was no way they could keep it up for too much longer. Someone had to do something. Fast.

A cry of pained surprise followed by a gasp sounded in Tony's ear and he dove for the ground again to land in a protective crouch beside the fallen Super Soldier. Steve lay panting but with Tony's arrival struggled to rise.

"You alright?"

"Fine," the soldier gasped, but the blood streaming from a cut on his head and the burns on his chest and side suggested otherwise. Bullets rained down on them and Tony bent over Rogers as they pinged off of his armor and shattered the ground around them. "We could use some help over here!"

A few seconds later the sky roared and a bolt of lightning fried every Drone within a hundred yards. Thor landed beside them and quickly helped to pull Steve to his feet. "Are you alright, Captain?"

"I'm fine," the solder repeated. _"_But we've got to end this. I don't know about you guys but I'm starting to get hungry."

It had been a joke between them all since that first battle. They wouldn't say tired, hurting, so instead they said hungry. War now, shawarma after because I'm starving. For some reason though it didn't seem so funny just then, when they were surrounded on all sides by robots who wouldn't even be allowed to exist had the system not let a worm like Hammer slide through their fingers.

"_Guys, more drones coming up on your four and eleven,"_ Hawkeye announced. Natasha appeared beside them, battered and looking as worse for the wear as all of them did. Sliding a new magazine into her handgun she stood back to back with Thor and Steve while Tony shot upwards again.

"Barton, how's Banner doing?" the playboy asked as he sent a pulse blast in the direction of the oncoming drones. "Any trouble?"

"_None. He's just smashing away like always,"_ Clint replied as the sound of distant explosions sounded behind him through the comm.

"Keep me posted."

"_Will- aghgjdhk!"_

"Hawk? Barton!" Tony raced through the air towards the archer's position but Clint replied a moment later, panting and sounding angry but fine.

"_I'm good. Damn kamikazes. I'll keep you posted on Banner."_

The armored hero still flew over Barton's perch just to be sure, taking out a drone or two on his way by. The things were like ants, crawling into every crevice and up climbing every wall. Not to mention the fact that their armor had been seriously improved upon since the last time he'd face them. They were taking too long to wipe out. What was needed was something powerful, something that would take down a large number at once.

"I've got a plan," Tony suddenly declared, spinning mid-air and heading in the direction of the still flocking super-bots - and away from the rest of the team. "JARVIS, on my mark send all our power to the weapons."

"_Sir, the suit has already sustained heavy damage. Rerouting power may cause a -"_

"Just _do it, _JARVIS."

"_...Of course, sir."_

"Guys, do what you can to send them my way," Tony called though the team's comm line, aiming for the main force of upgraded Hammer Droids that were flocking their way. "I've got an idea."

"_Where are you going?" _Steve asked, his voice tight and rushed through the comm. The bullets were flying again.

"I've got an idea," Tony repeated.

"_Care to share it with the rest of us?"_

"Give me a minute and I'll decide," he lied. If they knew what he had planned they'd probably object and there wasn't time for that. He would just take the flak for it later, when the drones were gone and Steve was in full on 'you're going to get yourself killed if you keep rushing in to things like this, Stark' mode.

Grunting as bullets and micro-missiles ricocheted and pinged off of his armor, sending various alerts and warnings flashing across his visor, he crashed hard into the ground and as his flight stabilizers stuttered. Two blocks from the others. Hopefully that would be enough.

"_Power at sixty-seven percent," _JARVIS announced. _"Are you certain you wish to continue with this?"_

"Positive," Tony replied, shoving himself to his feet and firing off blasts of plasma as the drones continued their attack. "As soon as the majority of the drones are in range send every ounce of power we have into the repulsers. We're going to blast these tin-heads."

"_Is that safe? JARVIS, is it safe?" _Barton demanded suddenly, distracted but obviously uncertain, wary, and paying enough attention to be concerned. The playboy was up to something, he could tell.

The billionaire clenched his jaw as he realized that JARVIS had left the line to the rest of the team open. One of these days he was going to have to reprogram the AI so that he wasn't so damn sneaky. "It'll be fine," he answered with more confidence than he felt, and before the AI could butt in and do it for him.

"_You sure?" _

"Pretty sure."

"_Tony." _

"Look, we don't have time for this," he said, grunting again as one of the drones' micro-missiles slammed him in the back and sent him sprawling. "There are too many for us to pick off one by one."

"_Stark-"_

He closed the line before Natasha could continue, knowing that he'd be hearing about that later as well. If everything went as planned, of course. Unfortunately for him nothing _ever_ seemed to go as planned.

"_Sir, seventy-eight percent of the drones are now within one half block of your position,_" JARVIS announced.

"No kidding," Tony gasped as two drones crashed into him at once, one pounding on his helmet while the other drove a two fisted blow at his chest. With a quick blast Tony threw them off, but instantly there were more. An explosion sent him flying as yet another kamikaze-bomber just missed him. Rising as a hail of bullets and lasers rained down, he grit his teeth. "Send all power to the weapons. Now!"

"_Rerouting power now," _the AI complied, and darned if he didn't actually sound hesitant.

Tony immediately felt the change as his visor dimmed and the weapons surged with enhanced energy. Blasting his way through the drones became easier, but the longer he went the more he came to admit that there were more than he could handle on his own. He went down again and JARVIS alerted him to the decrease in power levels.

"_Twenty percent. Sir, you need to pull out now. The arc reactor cannot keep up with the demands. It needs time rebuild its reserves."_

"How many drones are left, J?"

"_Sir-"_

"How many?"

"_All total there are one hundred forty-nine Hammer Drones left."_

Too many.

Switching on the comm that would connect him to the team again, Tony listened in, each grunt, gasp, hiss, or crash only serving to increase his resolve.

"Send everything to the chest-piece, JARVIS," he ordered quietly, calmly.

"_Sir, your reactor can no longer sustain that level of power. It will cause a crash," _JARVIS informed him, equally quiet and solemn.

"_Tony?"_ Barton quickly shouted into the comm., sounding mildly alarmed now and more than a bit angry. _"Dammit, Stark, answer!"_

Ignoring the calls and warnings that were now coming at him through the line Tony swung another drone away and blasted a second. "I know. Do it, J."

"_Of course, sir."_

As soon as the AI began to reroute the power Tony could feel it, building up in the suit while draining away what little energy was left in what was basically his artificial heart.

"Are we clear?" he asked, no longer able to see any data on his visor. He couldn't do this if there was anyone near by to get hurt.

"_Affirmative."_

Taking a deep breath, Tony nodded. "Blast 'em, J."

The force of the explosion that filled the area was blinding as plasma shot forth from the armor's chest, obliterating every drone in the area and then some. The shockwave blew even Tony back, sending him flying limply through the air.

Landing hard against a half-crumbling building he fell to the ground and stayed there, gasping for breath that wouldn't come and trying to quash the burning memories that suddenly forced their way into his subconscious. His first taste of real war, the pain that had blossomed in his chest as the bits of metal ripped into his skin and flesh. The ringing in his ears, the heat of the blast, everything suddenly reminded him of that desert in Afghanistan.

"_Stark!"_

As the last dregs of power allowed his visor to flicker to life and beep at him in alarm, Tony's eyes slid closed.

"_Iron Man...ome in. S...rk? Answer...!"_

He barely heard the frantic voices that burst through the static of his broken comm to demand his response, nor did he hear the angry roar as Hulk smashed his way through the city towards him.

_"Tony!"_

* * *

Bahahah! Cliffhanger! *evil laugh* Don't worry, chapter two is all written and ready to post in a day or two (after I skim over and edit it a few more times). Reviews are love!

And don't forget to check out _Some Things Aren't Funny. _You won't be sorry that you did.


	2. Chapter 2

A/N: ACK. I'm so sorry. I honestly meant to have this up early today but my gosh, this chapter gave me no end of trouble. Long story short, I rewrote it at LEAST six times.

In other news, THANK YOU SO MUCH for all of the reviews/favorites. I don't know that any story I've written ever had received this much love so quickly. I'm speechless, you guys. And I love you all. And I'm sorry I didn't reply to reviews, but I thought you'd all prefer that I skip that and finish the chapter instead, yeah?

You've all been brilliant and I won't keep you waiting any longer. Enjoy!

* * *

The explosion left them all frozen.

From each separate position Natasha, Clint, Steve, and Thor all watched as the sky filled with the blinding glare of plasma and the air roared from the blast. Even the Hammer Drones paused to ensure that the danger wasn't headed their way. The spell laster mere seconds before it was broken and suddenly the fight was on again, but the silence that sounded in reply to all their half-frantic calls was enough to cause all of their stomachs to churn.

"Stark!"

"Iron Man, come in. Stark? Answer!"

"Tony!"

The only sound that came back was static.

"Thor, find him!" Steve shouted across the din as he fought to take out one of the remaining drones. Before the god of thunder could move, however, a blur of green smashed through one of the buildings to the left of them and was already running towards the explosion-damaged area two blocks away, destroying whatever was in his path as he went.

The Hulk would find Tony. Somehow the huge green 'rage-monster' always did.

From above Barton's arrows took out three more drones in quick succession, blowing their heads off with a malice that left Steve feeling glad that they were only droids and not actual human beings. There were noticeably fewer now with no reinforcements in view. Whatever Stark had done seemed to have worked.

The question was... had it been worth it?

When the Hulk returned a few minutes later with a limp suit of armor cradled in his massive green arms, Steve knew it _wouldn't_ be worth it if they finally lost one of their own as payment.

Hulk dropped Tony in their midst with less ceremony than was probably needed and instantly disappeared again to no one knew where. Steve dropped into a crouch next to the unresponsive man and stared helplessly, not knowing what to do. The chest-piece flickered sporadically and he felt a small twinge of hope. If Stark's light stayed on that meant life, right? He was going to pretend to know so, because the alternative wasn't an option.

Bullets hailed down and Steve ducked behind his shield, covering Tony as the armored hero had done for him not so many minutes ago. A second later Thor had taken the offending drone out and stood panting, waiting for more.

There were none.

Flinging his shield aside Steve focused on the playboy again, watching as the arc reactor flickered again before going out completely. "No. No. No no no no."

Suddenly he found himself shoved aside by a barely clothed but completely un-green again Bruce Banner. "Tony? Tony! Damn. He's crashing. We have to get the suit off, now!"

As Bruce and Natasha, who obviously knew what they were doing, removed the armor piece by piece Steve could only stand back with Thor and watch.

_Come on, Tony._

-o0oOo0o-

It had been two days. Or almost two. In truth it had been thirty-nine hours and some odd minutes. He'd tried to sleep but it wouldn't come; if the lights and sounds coming from the other rooms that he passed in his aimless wandering of the tower were any indication, it wasn't coming easy for the rest of the team, either.

Walking down the night-darkened halls of the Tower's fifteenth floor, Steve rubbed tiredly at his eyes. He didn't actually even need to see where he was going to get himself there - he'd walked the path between his room and the medical ward enough times in the past two days to find it in his sleep.

The door slid open automatically in front of him and he squinted as the shadows of the corridor were replaced by the dimmed but still bright enough to hurt lights of the medical ward.

"How's he doing?"

From the chair by the bed Banner looked up, staring at the soldier wearily before shoving himself up and sliding his hands into his pockets.

"Uh, he's stable. All we can do is wait for him to wake up."

Crossing to the bed Steve looked across it and stare at the doctor. "Should it be taking this long?"

"Who knows? These things vary. He did crash twice," Bruce said thoughtfully, tiredly. "His body just needs time to rest."

Taking in the worn and slightly swaying form of the other man, Steve frowned. "You look like you could use some rest yourself, Doc," he said kindly, jerking his head towards the door. "You should go. I'll stay with him."

"No, I'm fine."

"Doc."

Bruce hesitated for several seconds before slowly giving in. "Okay. Yeah... you're right. Just make sure you call me if anything happens."

"I will."

Waiting until the scientist was gone, Steve took the chair that Banner had vacated and leaned back, rubbing his face again and sighing. Around him too many technological doodads blinked and beeped, displaying signs that he had very little idea how to read. The digital clock on one of the screens read 0300 hours.

Resting his head on the back of the chair the soldier stared at the motionless hero laying on the bed. "Come on, Stark," he murmured, putting an edge of command in his tone as if it might help. "It's time to wake up."

The only reply was the soft beeping of the machines.

For two hours Steve sat, unable to sleep and unable to stop replaying the events of the fight with the drones in his mind. On one hand he felt guilty, because hadn't he been the one to accuse Tony of not being willing to make that sacrifice play? Now it seemed that the playboy never did anything _but. _

Death was something he was used to. It was part of war, and war he knew well. But that didn't mean that losing someone - even someone that you didn't always get along with - ever got any easier.

_Come on, Tony. Wake up._

"Did we win?"

The hoarse question shattered the semi-stillness and made Steve jump to the point where he barely caught himself from sliding out of the chair. Blinking slowly and rubbing his eyes he paused for a moment before jerking his head up to look at the room's only other occupant. A pair of dark brown eyes met his and Tony stared at him with an eyebrow arching curiously while a small and tired smirk played on his lips.

"Hi."

Rising quickly from the chair Steve practically leapt to the bedside. "You're awake."

"Apparently," Tony quipped. Skimming over the solder's rough and rumpled appearance the playboy then smirked. "_You_ look terrible."

Smothering a relieved grin that was sure to get him mocked, Steve arched an eyebrow. "You're not exactly in top shape yourself."

Looking down at himself Tony shrugged and quirked his mouth in a 'what can you do' sort of half smile. "I've probably looked worse."

"I doubt it."

There was a moment of silence in before Tony looked up at him again, looking far too serious. "So. Did we win?" he asked again.

"Yeah, we won."

"Everyone make it out?"

"Yeah."

Tony closed his eyes and leaned back into the pillow. "Good."

They remained silent for a while before Steve looked at the clock. 0630.

Looking back down he found the dark-haired man already sleeping again. Steve soon reseated himself, intending to keep watch and make sure nothing went wrong. Soon though his lack of sleep caught up with him and he lay back in the chair again, closing his eyes. It didn't take long for him to drift off into a light but peaceful sleep.

-o0oOo0o-

A soft 'click' was the first sound to greet Steve when he finally woke up again. Snapping his head up quickly he winced as the muscles in his neck protested and his shoulders popped. Before him Tony was sitting up in the bed and staring at him with a lopsided and deceptively innocent grin that told the soldier something had just happened that he probably wouldn't like.

"Did you just take a photo of me?"

Tony blinked in what was clearly supposed to be innocence but in truth came across as 'of course I had JARVIS take a picture of you drooling all over the chair like a puppy and as soon as you're gone yes I'm definitely sending it to every single person you know on the entire planet'.

Torn between frustration and relief that the billionaire looked more like a human being and less like death warmed over, Steve opted to - for once - let it go. "How do you feel?"

"Alive," Tony answered airily. "And hungry - how long have I been out?"

"Two days."

Tony blinked fast and hard his face freezing as he digested the news. "Two days..." he repeated eventually, schooling his features into a carefully neutral expression. "Huh."

Standing with his hands in his pockets, Steve rubbed the back of his neck and looked around the ward before glancing back at the bed again. "Yeah."

"I guess it was pretty close."

"Your heart stopped," the soldier admitted. "Twice. You crashed and went into full cardiac arrest and it took Banner and a handful of medical staff from S.H.I.E.L.D to get you stable again. He's been sitting in this ward almost non-stop since we got here and that was _after _he smashed half a city block trying to get you out."

"Half a block, huh?" Tony muttered, looking down at the sheets that stretched across his torso and legs with apparently casual interest.

"Actually it was closer to a whole block."

Steve jerked his head up to see Bruce standing in the doorway, glasses in hand as he stared at the man in the bed.

"Doc."

Nodding to Steve, Bruce crossed the room slowly, hands in his pockets. "You were pretty hard to find what with all the rubble and everything," he informed the playboy. "The Other Guy may have knocked a wall down on you when he first showed up. He was kind of in a hurry."

"A wall, huh? Well I guess I shouldn't complain too much," Tony replied with exaggerated grace. "Since you did dig me out and everything."

"That's very generous of you."

The room went quiet as Steve just looked between the two scientists and Banner checked all of Tony's readings. Everything soon checked out. Tony was tired, battered, bruised, and sore, but otherwise fine. The worst was over.

"I suppose I should say thank you," Tony said eventually, bouncing his hands off on the bed with the awkward energy that always showed up whenever he was about to say or do something that was unusual to him. "For saving me. Again."

"No," Bruce replied. "Just try not to make this a habit, okay? I'd like to go through a major battle without having to worry about you once it's over."

"I think I can handle that," Tony replied. "I mean, maybe. You may not have noticed but I'm kind of a fan of dramatics, so..." he trailed off, shrugging and smiling in a way that clearly said 'what can you do?'.

Steve breathed out a laughing sigh and Bruce shook his head. "Sometimes I hate you," the scientist said, with a grin to show that he wasn't serious.

"Do not," the playboy replied smugly. "Admit it, you'd be bored without me."

"You're right," Bruce responded, much less teasing now. "So you had better be more careful. You wouldn't want me to get bored."

Seeing that everything was going to be alright, Steve eventually took his leave of the soon playfully bickering scientists and made his way to the elevator, intending to catch up on some much needed shut eye.

He was almost bowled over by a red-headed blur that shot out of the elevator car and ran past him. "Tony!"

Watching as Pepper flung herself into the playboy's arms, scolding and hanging over him as though afraid to touch him and make anything worse, Steve smiled and stepped into the waiting car. He laughed at Tony's failing attempts to ward off his upset girlfriend's scolding and at the amused look on Banner's face. It was nice to see people smile again. Needless to say it hadn't happened much the past few days.

"JARVIS?" Steve called as the doors slid closed.

The worst part of war, of being a hero, was the constant risk of losing those you cared about.

"_Yes, Captain?"_

The best part, however, was getting them back again.

"Call up the others," he ordered. "Let them know that everything is going to be fine."

* * *

_I really, REALLY hope you guys enjoyed the end. I did my very best to make it the chapter you all deserved for being such wonderful readers. Thanks again so much for all the support. I don't deserve you guys at all. *hugs*_


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